Nonwetting,nonrolling, stain resistant polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane coated textiles

Cotton/polyester fabric surfaces were modified using nanostructured organic‐inorganic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) molecules via solution dip coating. Surface wetting characteristics of coatings prepared from two chemically and structurally different POSS molecules, a closed cage fluorinated dodecatrifluoropropyl POSS (FL‐POSS) and an open cage nonfluorinated trisilanolphenyl POSS (Tsp‐POSS), were evaluated with time and compared with Teflon. Surface analysis, including Atomic Force Microscopy, SEM/EDAX, and NMR revealed the presence of POSS aggregates on the fabric surface leading to a spiky topography, high roughness, and hysteresis. POSS coated fabrics showed complete reversal of surface wetting characteristics with contact angles higher than the benchmark Teflon surface. Water contact angle measured as a function of time showed equivalent or better performance for POSS‐coated surfaces in comparison to Teflon. Furthermore, FL‐POSS coated fabric exhibited exceptional stain and acid resistance along with a 38% reduction in relative surface friction. Additionally, “nonsliding” and high surface adhesion behavior of water droplets on the FL‐POSS coated fabric are reported. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Generation of Pathogen-Resistant Tomato against Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus and Powdery Mildew

Tomato is one of the major vegetable crops consumed worldwide. Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and fungal Oidium sp. are devastating pathogens causing yellow leaf curl disease and powdery mildew. Such viral and fungal pathogens reduce tomato crop yields and cause substantial economic losses every year. Several commercial tomato varieties include Ty-5 (SlPelo) and Mildew resistance locus o 1 (SlMlo1) locus that carries the susceptibility (S-gene) factors for TYLCV and powdery mildew, respectively. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) is a valuable genome editing tool to develop disease-resistant crop varieties. In this regard, targeting susceptibility factors encoded by the host plant genome instead of the viral genome is a promising approach to achieve pathogen resistance without the need for stable inheritance of CRISPR components. In this study, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was employed to target the SlPelo and SlMlo1 for trait introgression in elite tomato cultivar BN-86 to confer host-mediated immunity against pathogens. SlPelo-knockout lines were successfully generated, carrying the biallelic indel mutations. The pathogen resistance assays in SlPelo mutant lines confirmed the suppressed accumulation of TYLCV and restricted the spread to non-inoculated plant parts. Generated knockout lines for the SlMlo1 showed complete resistance to powdery mildew fungus. Overall, our results demonstrate the efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to introduce targeted mutagenesis for the rapid development of pathogen-resistant varieties in tomato.     

Molecular Docking Studies and Biological Evaluation of Berberine–Benzothiazole Derivatives as an Anti-Influenza Agent via Blocking of Neuraminidase

In this study, we have introduced newly synthesized substituted benzothiazole based berberine derivatives that have been analyzed for their in vitro and in silico biological properties. The activity towards various kinds of influenza virus strains by employing the cytopathic effect (CPE) and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Several berberine–benzothiazole derivatives (BBDs), such as BBD1, BBD3, BBD4, BBD5, BBD7, and BBD11, demonstrated interesting anti-influenza virus activity on influenza A viruses (A/PR/8/34, A/Vic/3/75) and influenza B viral (B/Lee/40, and B/Maryland/1/59) strain, respectively. Furthermore, by testing neuraminidase activity (NA) with the neuraminidase assay kit, it was identified that BBD7 has potent neuraminidase activity. The molecular docking analysis further suggests that the BBD1–BBD14 compounds’ antiviral activity may be because of interaction with residues of NA, and the same as in oseltamivir.     

Conjugate Mixed Convection Heat Transfer in Plane Laminar Wall Jet Flow

A numerical investigation of heat transfer from a uniformly heated slab of finite thickness by plane laminar wall jet flow under combined forced and natural convection, i.e., mixed convection, is presented. The problem has been solved for two classical cases such as Pr ? 1 and Pr ? 1. The effects of the Grashof number (Gr), Reynolds number (Re), Prandtl number (Pr), and thermal conductivity ratio (R_k) between the slab and fluid medium are investigated on the heat transfer characteristics, i.e., local Nusselt number, interface temperature, and average Nusselt number.     

Experimental investigation of impact of diesel particulate filter on smoke and NO<Subscript>x</Subscript> emissions of a Euro-I compression ignition engine with active and off-board regeneration

Old engines (Euro III or earlier) produce more emissions, and it will be difficult to entirely stop their usage especially in developing and under-developed nations; hence, it is desired that appropriate emission reduction technologies are tested on such engines to analyze their feasibility and economical acceptability. While most such studies have been conducted on constant speed stationary engines and modern engines, this study tried to analyze the effectiveness of an uncoated wall-flow type ceramic diesel particulate filter on a Euro-I, water-cooled, direct injection, variable speed, compression ignition engine in a laboratory set-up in India. Also, this study focused on diesel particulate filter regeneration by two methods: active regeneration by diesel injection in the particulate filter using an electronic control unit and off-board regeneration by taking out and heating the diesel particulate filter in an electrical resistance furnace at 650 °C for 10 h. The results, in the form of smoke emission, NO_x emission and engine performance, obtained using both the regeneration methods were analyzed, and conclusions were drawn. It was found that using diesel particulate filter, particulate matter emissions (smoke) were almost entirely eliminated. It was also found that off-board regeneration had numerous advantages compared to active regeneration. Since a furnace would be needed for off-board regeneration, an exchange process for diesel particulate filter is suggested.     

Automated TB classification using ensemble of deep architectures

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that mainly affects the lung region. Its initial screening is mostly performed using chest radiograph, which is also...     

Piezo/pyro/photo-catalysis activities in Ba0.85Ca0.15(Ti0.9Zr0.1)1-xFexO3 ceramics

Ba_0.85Ca_0.15(Ti_0.9Zr_0.1)_1-xFe_xO₃ (x = 0, 0.5, and 1%) ceramics were studied for piezocatalysis, photocatalysis, and pyrocatalysis using dye degradation in the simulated wastewater. The effect of electrical poling was also performed and found a significant impact of poling on all three catalytic reactions. Fe decreased the optical bandgap of Ba_0.85Ca_0.15Ti_0.9Zr_0.1O₃ (BCZTO) to the visible region. Bandgap for x = 0, 0.005, and 0.01 was found to be 3.14 eV, 2.75 eV, and 2.61 eV, respectively. Interestingly, visible light photocatalytic activity was observed after Fe inclusion in BCZTO lattice. These compositions have also demonstrated dye degradation under ultrasonication (piezocatalytsis) and during temporal temperature change (pyrocatalysis). Results indicate promising multicatalysis in BCZTO ceramics which can be tuned using Fe substitution.     

Effect of poling on piezocatalytic removal of muti-pollutants using BaTiO3

The BaTiO₃ powder was prepared via a solid-state reaction route. It was studied for the degradation of bacterial cells, dye, and pharmaceuticals waste using ultrasonically driven piezocatalytic effect. The bacterial catalytic behavior of poled BaTiO₃ was remarkably increased during ultrasonication (10% E coli survival in 60 minutes). The structural damages were illustrated using scanning electron micrographs of bacterial cells which demonstrated morphological manifestations under different conditions. Methylene blue (MB dye), ciprofloxacin and diclofenac were also cleaned using the piezocatalytic effect associated with the poled BaTiO₃ powder. Around 92, 85, and 78% of degradations were observed within 150 minutes duration for methylene blue, ciprofloxacin, and diclofenac, respectively.     

Operability and control in process intensification and modular design: Challenges and opportunities

In this article, the importance of considering operability and control criteria in the analysis and design of intensified and modular processes is discussed. We first analyze the impact on operability of key factors including: (i) degrees of freedom, (ii) process constraints, (iii) numbering up vs. scaling up, and (iv) dynamic/periodic operation. Comparative examples are presented to showcase the pros and cons in intensified/modular systems vs. their conventional counterparts from operability and control aspects. Then we look into metrics and tools to address these challenges such as: (i) flexibility analysis, (ii) operability-based design, and (iii) advanced model-based control. Considering different conceptual design stages as synthesis intensification, steady-state design, and dynamic operational optimization, we highlight the need to incorporate different levels of operability considerations. Future research opportunities and perspectives are also identified, particularly emphasizing the importance of a holistic strategy for integrated design, operability, and control of intensified and modular process systems.